Welcome to the Empire of architecture
It's safe and easy to reach Hampi by road
India and the history of India are vastly distributed and there is so little to understand. Hampi, situated on the banks of the river Tungabhadra in the state of Karnataka, seems to me to be the invention of such a magnificent architectural concept and structural concept. At a distance of 10 hours from Pune, in the state of Karnataka in the south, there is the Vijayanagara Empire, which is "Hampi". We can also call this the Kishkindha kingdom as in the Ramayana. Surprisingly, the existence of this empire, its vitality is still felt us, and its witnesses are the very old magnificent temples, structures, idols and stones.
Hampi is a boon for those who are interested in architectural concepts, designs, history, architecture and excavation. Many students from India, as well as from outside India come here for research. The road from Pune to Hampi is very beautiful and lush green, so you can also enjoy the road trip for Hampi.
Local rides are best
We planned our Hampi trip for the first week of December. We reached Hospet at 8 in the morning. Hampi is 13 km from Hospet and city buses are continuously available for Hampi. Bus service runs from 5 am to 11 pm. The local transport accessibility is very easy at Hampi, I we decided to enjoy the trip with Rikshaw and city buses.
There are a lot of accommodation options in Hampi and Hospet too. The Hampi is now fully commercialised for visitors.
After reaching the hotel we had breakfast and immediately we started for Hampi. Before reaching Hampi, there are many monuments which welcome you. Seeing these huge layers of rocks and stones, it seems that we have reached the old empire. The bus stopped at the "Hampi" bus station and as we looked around, there was majestic stone temples, huge boulders and mountains all over the place. All this was a glimpse of the "Vijayanagar" empire and the Krishnadevaraya dynasty.
Start From here
We hired an auto to visit several places in a day. Also, we hired a guide who can make us understand the importance of these stone structures. Every place has information boards, but we need to know ore that the placed information, else without guide also you can enjoy the places. However, it is very important to take a guide to know and experience the wonders of "Vitthal Mandir".
We started our visit with Ganesh who was huge in size. The place's name is "Sasivekalu". it was carved in a single rock. Hemkuta Hills is considered one of the most beautiful sites in Hampi. There are many small temples scattered over the hill - Mustard Ganesh, Kadalekalu Ganesha. It is a famous viewpoint for witnessing Hampi’s mesmerising sunsets.
Don't miss the Lakshmi-Narasimha & Badavilinga Temple
After the darshan of Ganpati Bappa, We came to visit the 5-6 meter high sculpture of Lakshmi-Narasimha. This is the largest sculpture in Hampi. Out of the idols of Lakshmi-Narasimha, only Narasimha can be seen which is in Padmavastha and the mask of the idol, Sheshnag on the sculpture's head is in good condition.
In the same compound, we have visited the "Badvi Ling" statue. The linga is always submerged in the water. A delicate leaf of Bella is carved on the Pindi.
The main Bazar of the Hampi. Must visit
Then we went to the "Achutaraya" temple. Due to the vast expanse, this magnificent temple does not look at all at a glance. The main door of the temple is very small. Due to the Mughal invasion, the temple is in ruins and no worship is held here. Although most of the temples do not have idols, the main shrines are empty, but these magnificent sculptures still stand today.
The interior of the Achhutaraya temple
In front of the Achhutaraya temple, on a large ground, you can see square shape stalls. They were built in a single line, same size and parallel. This would be the Bazar area at that time.
Beautiful Pushkarani
There was a small pool at the back of the bazaar called "Pushkarani" which is not easily seen but it has its beauty. Looking at the overall structure of the pool and its surroundings, it seems that the pool is a place to relax and unwind for those who used to come to the market.
1000 Rama carving at the single place...
Later we went to visit the "Hazara Rama" temple. The name itself contains the features of the temple. As the name suggests, 1000 Rams have been carved in this temple. The stone carvings in this temple are admirable. The carving has been done in black stone. Rama's life is engraved on it. The Ramayana is carved on the outer wall of the temple. The help of a guide is needed to understand the details of this temple. Oh! How amazing the temple is!!!
Stepwell.. best example of mathematics, architecture and health sciences
After resting for a while, we proceeded, to the ancient town planning area. The black stone pool here is a living example of mathematics, architecture and health sciences. The tank pool is an artistic structure that allows the sludge and soil to be scientifically drained and made available for drinking pure water.
The "Dussehra Dibba" is the front side of the pool, The tallest stone square (table) in the area. This was the place to celebrate Dussehra. Standing at this place, one can see the great "Vijayanagar" empire spread far and wide in all four directions. The black stone is used in the construction of this chauthara and on it are carved many beautiful social and cultural events like elephants, horses, lions rejoicing and people playing musical instruments, elephant riders (mahouts).
Apart from this, places like Raja's court, secret place (the place where important talks take place) and Dand Chauthara are also kept in our memory.
Must-Visit Lotus Mahal, Queen’s bath in the same location
These monuments are an example of complex ancient Vijayanagara architecture. Queen's bath is the place for bath area, especially for royal families and it has a secret water tank. The square structure has many rooms and the roof is beautifully painted. In this place, water has been transported from the reservoir and care has been taken to ensure that the hot fall into the tank.
After this, we visited Kamal-Mahal and Hattishala at "Xenon Mahal".
Our rickshaw driver took us to a nearby South Indian hotel. The special feature of the hotel is that its roof was made of coconut shells and the table was also made of stone. Many peacocks were spotted as there was a forest nearby. This is the first time in my life I have seen peacock so closely!
The grand Vitthala temple Don's miss out to experience mysterious musical pillar's sound and the stone chariot view.
After lunch, we were eager to visit the grand vittal mandir. and Here, however, we enlisted the help of a guide to understanding the history and scriptures behind the temple assembly area and their design. Our guide's Hindi language was a bit broken but it was fun to listen to Hindi in that South indian tone. This very enthusiastic child gave us all the information from the top of the temple to the end with a demonstration. There is a wide market on the outside of the temple. There is also a stone wall around the temple.
As soon as you enter through the main door of the temple, you can see the artefacts of the Sun Temple of Konark. This artwork is made of 27 different pieces of stone intertwined with each other. Not only this time but all the temples in Hampi are built without the use of sand and lime. How amazing !!
This temple is complex of mandapas. One of the most important of which is the Sangeetmandapa. The different musical sounds emanating from each of the pillars of the pavilion is a subject of research for great scientists. Our guide showed us the description of the music pavilion and the demonstrations of the sound emanating from it.
Apart from this, the marriage ceremony of Rama and Sita carved in the stone of the Kalyan Mandapa and the carving of God, Goddess who came for the marriage are very remarkable.
The floral carvings in the central area on the roof of the Maha-mandapa are stunning. Also, the joint carvings of Chinese dragons and lions add beauty to the architecture of the pavilion.
It took us about an hour to see and understand the entire temple. If we go out from the backside of the temple, we can see the noisy river of Tungabhadra once again and when we came out of the temple, the sun was setting down.
On the way back to the hotel, we have fun with the school children who were on the trip, with singing songs .
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